Rating: 
Summary: It's not an easy read but it's worth it
Review: Carson McCullers paints a wonderful picture of life in a southern town in 1939. The novel is filled with thought provoking images about lonliness, slavery, and hopelessness. But in the end, if you're willing to spend time thinking about the writing, you will enjoy the book.The book is dripping with descriptive prose (I didn't think there were so many ways to describe the sunrise or sunset)and the action moves very slow. Many people who prefer the current-day dramatic novel with it's fast paced action and heavy reliance on dialog may not find this book to be their cup of tea. But, in my opinion, it's worth reading this book if only to understand the world of 1940 when she wrote it. Afterall, reading is not about what the author is doing with her right hand but what she is subtly doing with her left.
Rating: 
Summary: A book to remember
Review: I encountered this book in the 9th grade while reading it with my teacher as a class asssignment. And even now, as I prepare myself for college, I often find my mind wander back to the story of this impelling novel. The lives of the characters created in this book entwine so gracefully that one can't help but love it. Granted some who read it may find it somewhat overdramatic and analytical, but if they would only take a step back and look at the whole picture, I'm sure that they'd find that there is a reason behind all of her "maddness." So for those who dislike the book, take a look at how the woman explains herself- "Love, and especially love of a person who is incapable of returning, or receiving it, is at the heart of my selection of grotesque figures to write about--people whose physical incapacity is a symbol of their spiritual incapacity to love or to receive love--their sprirtual isolation."-Carson McCullers
Rating:
Summary: Marvellous work
Review: Every two or three pages, the hairs on the back of my neck would prickle up. This book is marvellous and masterfully crafted. Recommended reading: anyone with the time to spare for perhaps the best read of his or her life.
Rating:
Summary: The light of friendship shines for all
Review: This book is about friendship and loyalty. One needs to approah it cautiously lest all we see in it are the hopelessly confused lives of all characters. And yet, within this confusion, and despite it, Singer, the deaf-mute clock repairer seems happy. His secret attracts everybody -- from the young girl gorwing up with dreams of becoming a composer (never to be realized), to the old black doctor -- they all are enchanted by his neatness and serenity, by his ability to ignore the depressing, hopeless reality all around and live, it seems, in an enchanted world of his own. Almost unconsciously, they seek his company, as if to learn from a master. And all the while, Singer's secret is as profound as it is simple -- he has a good friend, the other deaf-mute in the town. The two initially live together, but then Singer's friend is sent to a mental asylum. Singer's initial panic and agony are soon replaced by patience and purposefulness -- every once in a while he visits his friend and takes gifts to him. For both of them, each other is all they have -- in a world of speech where noone can understand them, in a world so drab and rusty it seems time itself has stopped, Singer has a friend. And this makes him open-hearted and loving to everyone else. In world where people have so little goodness to spare for each other, where people often hurt their loved ones, Singer is almost like a saintly figure, his kindness making the lives of everyone else just that much more bearable. And when his friend dies, Singer finds that his life has become meaningless. His suicide shocks everyone and leaves them hurt, and disillusioned. MuCullers manages to convey extremely well the hopelessness of the small town. High ideals and higher purposes -- whether socialism or black civil rights -- seem doomed. People are unable to communicate with each other, and each suffers alone in a horribly confused and constrained little world of their own. The only thing that makes sense is not some higher goal but the closeness of another human being. The only thing that makes life bearable, makes it worth living, is friendship and love. When that is gone, the rest scatters like so much dust in the wind.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it when you're sick...
Review: ...because then you can throw up on it, and you won't care that you have ruined the book! THIS BOOK IS HORRIBLE!
Rating: 
Summary: I thought it was......special
Review: I am in limbo between hating it and loving it. I am 14, in 9th grade and live far away from anything. I adore reading but it is books like this and Gulliver's Travels that make me hate it. I like action, development and a plot. All of which this book did not have. Read it if you want to but I would suggest a book with life in it.
Rating:
Summary: 1.8 Thumbs up!
Review: I'm only in 8th grade, and I love this book. Some things that i just take for granted in my everyday life are expressed here. Just reading this book gave me a real look at life. McCullers did a great job.
Rating:
Summary: A depressing yet eye-opening bit of literature
Review: I thought this book was truly distressing, yet eye-opening as well. It showed how difficult the lives of outcasts can be. All characters that struggled in this book were outcasts in their own right. All of this rejection makes me realize just how fortunate I am to live with all the advantages of being a physically-abled, white male. To not have to struggle with the basic means of communication like the people in the novel did has never been granted as such a relief than when I finished reading this book. I never have felt so guilty about feeling lonely because I learned in this book what true loneliness is: rejection by the people you are trying to help. I was also shown what true depression is: the death of a dream due to circumstances that you cannot control. Carson McCullers showed the hardships of life by the underpriveliged in a way that cannot be ignored. Though the book lacked action, it made up for it in emotion. However, at times I felt the book stalled where action could have been used. Yes, I am a college student and though at times I did find it boring, I think Carson McCullers truly wrote a compelling novel.
Rating:
Summary: very good book
Review: I lived in the town in Alabama where this book was filmed as a movie back in the late 60's and from that standpoint alone I thought the story was really good after seeing the movie. I could relate to the area, but after finally reading the book recently I have really come to appreciate it more for the outstanding book that it is.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply touching account of girl's coming of age in South
Review: When I first read this book, I was still in my teens and had seen the movie starring Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke. It was a very moving story then, but I reacted to the emotions of the young girl primarily. When I read the book again at forty-something, I was able to see how every character viewed the mute as their sounding board, as someone who understood them when no one else did. He didn't understand any of them, and thought of his Greek friend in the way that the others thought of him. When he lost his friend, he couldn't face life alone. I loved this book and began reading Carson McCuller's books then. Still one of my favorites!
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